NORMAN — Casey Walker's mother has a message for Oklahoma football fans: Her son is “great” and will return to the Sooners this season.

Oklahoma's Casey Walker (53) during the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Kansas Jayhawks (KU) on Saturday, Oct. 15 2011. in Lawrence, Kan. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

Coach Bob Stoops announced last week that Walker, a senior defensive tackle, was dealing with a “personal issue” that prevented him from traveling to El Paso, Texas, for the Sooners' season opener at UTEP on Saturday.

Stoops has continued to say he is unsure of any time frame for Walker's return.

Pipken declined to offer any specifics, only unequivocally saying, “Soon,” when asked if she knew when Walker might rejoin the OU football team.

A fifth-year senior who redshirted in 2008 as a freshman, Walker has appeared in 22 games over the past three seasons, earning 12 starts. Last season, he played in 12 of the Sooners' 13 games — starting eight of them — and missed a midseason home loss to Texas Tech with a hand injury.

However, on the Wednesday before OU's Nov. 26 home contest against Iowa State last season, Walker was transported by ambulance to an area hospital after suffering an injury during practice when a teammate's hand caught him in the throat while his head was tilted back.

Walker struggled to breathe at first, but was released from the hospital soon after arriving and played in all three of OU's remaining games.

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Jason Kersey became The Oklahoman's OU football beat writer in May 2012 after a year covering high school sports and OSU recruiting. Before joining the newspaper in November 2006 as a part-time results clerk, he covered high school football for...